34 Liking, Commenting On, and Sharing Objects

Opportunities are available throughout your portal to express a favorable judgment on an application object, through liking, and associate a comment with an application object, through commenting. Opportunities to share application objects, files, and URLs are also readily available.

This chapter provides information about liking, commenting, and sharing in WebCenter Spaces. It includes the following sections:

This chapter is intended for users assigned an application role that includes, minimally, the permission People Connections: Update People Connections Data. Users who plan to edit task flow properties must be assigned a role that also includes the permission Edit Pages. In a Space (other than the Home Space), users must be assigned a role that includes the permission Edit Page Access and Structure.

34.1 Liking and Unliking Application Objects

Liking is an accumulative rating system that enables you to see at a glance which objects are viewed most favorably by you and other users. A counter keeps track of the number of users who like the object. In a group of objects, you can determine the most favored by its number of likes (Figure 34-1).

Figure 34-1 Like Link on a Streamed Item

You can like streamed items that include objects. For example, you can like "Jack has updated doc.xml," but you cannot like "Jack and Jill are now connected."

You can express liking for the following types of application objects:

To share an item directly from your Activity Stream, the item must contain an object. For example, you can share "Jack has updated doc.xml," but you cannot share "Jack and Jill are now connected." Less obvious, you can share anything you post through the Publisher task flow because the post itself is an object.

34.3.2 Sharing Streamed Items with a Wider Audience

You can share items that appear in your view of the Activity Stream with a wider audience. For example, when your view of the Activity Stream reports that one of your connections updated a document of great interest to all of your connections, you can share that streamed item with all of your connections.

You can do so by posting the streamed item to all of your connections' Activity Streams or to the Activity Streams of connections who belong to a named Space. You can also share streamed items through email, enabling you to share it with users to whom you are not connected or to make use of mail distribution lists.

34.3.2.1 Reposting Streamed Items

Use the Share menu's This activity option to share a streamed item with your connections through their view of the Activity Stream.

To repost a streamed item to your connections' Activity Streams:

Go to the item you want to share, and from the Share menu select This activity (Figure 34-7)

Figure 34-7 This Activity Option on the Share Menu

In the resulting Share dialog:

Select Everyone to share the item with all of your connections (Figure 34-8).

Figure 34-8 Everyone Option on Share Something With Menu

Select a Space, or select More Spaces to share the item with those of your connections who have access to the selected Space.

Selecting More Spaces opens the Select a Space dialog, from which you can choose a Space (Figure 34-9).

Figure 34-9 Select a Space Dialog

From the Show Spaces menu:

Select All to show all of the Spaces to which you have access.

Select Joined to show all of the Spaces you have explicitly joined.

Select Moderated to show all of the Spaces for which you are a moderator.

Select Public to show all public Spaces.

Alternatively, enter the name of a Space in the Search field and execute the search. Results appear in the dialog.

Highlight a Space, and click OK.

Optionally, in the Share dialog, enter a message to accompany the link (Figure 34-10).

Figure 34-10 Adding a Message to a Shared Link

Note:

When you share a message, rather than a file or a link, you cannot enter another message to accompany it.

Click OK.

The item is posted to the Activity Streams of the selected recipients.

34.3.2.2 Emailing Streamed Items

Use the Share menu's Send Mail option to share a streamed item through email. The Send Mail option is available on streamed items that include objects, such as a document. It is otherwise not available.

To share a streamed item through email:

Go to the item you want to share, and from the Share menu select Send Mail (Figure 34-11)

Figure 34-11 Send Mail Option on the Share Menu

A mail message opens, prepopulated with a link to the selected item.

Address, write, and send the message as you would any other email.

34.3.3 Sharing Items, Files, and URLs Through the Publisher Task Flow

The Publisher task flow provides a means of publishing messages, files, and URLs to the Activity Streams of all of your connections or to those connections who have access to a specified Space. Publisher also has an associated property, Is Update Status, that enables users to publish a message as their Profile status message.

This section steps you through Publisher features and provides information about its associated properties. It includes the following subsections:

It is not controlled by configuration settings at the application level nor through your own personal Preferences. You specify who sees your published messages through a control on the task flow itself. You can also exercise some control over the message destination through task flow properties. For example, the Publisher task flow has an associated property, Is Update Status, that enables users to publish a message as their Profile status message.

In default WebCenter Spaces installations, the Publisher task flow is placed on the Activities business role page, which is provided in the Home Space for all authenticated users (that is, users who are logged in).

The default Activities business role page also contains an Activity Stream task flow where the messages you enter through the Publisher are published.

When you share a message, rather than a file or a link, you cannot enter another message to accompany it.

Click Share.

Your message appears in your view of the Activity Stream and in the Activity Streams of the selected recipients.

34.3.3.3 Sharing Files Through the Publisher Task Flow

In addition to sharing messages through the Publisher task flow, you can select to share files. When you share a file through the Publisher task flow, the uploaded file is also stored in the Public folder of your personal document library.

Tip:

If you prefer to have greater control over where a shared file is stored in your document library, you can upload it to the folder you prefer. Such uploads are also reported in your connection's activity streams, provided your activity stream is configured to show them. For more information, see Section 32.2, "Setting Activity Stream Preferences."

34.3.3.5.1 What You Should Know About Publisher Task Flow Properties

When you set property values on the Publisher task flow, you are affecting only the task flow instance on which the value is set. Other instances of the same task flow are not affected by such changes.

All properties on the Parameters and Display Options tabs provide access to an Expression Language (EL) editor, which you can use to select or specify a variable value instead of a constant value. Click the Edit icon next to a property field to open the editor. For more information about using the editor and for descriptions of common EL expressions, see Appendix B, "Expression Language Expressions."

34.3.3.5.2 Publisher Task Flow Parameters

Table 34-1 describes the parameters that are unique to the Publisher task flow.

Table 34-1 Publisher Task Flow Parameters

Property

Description

Hide Attach Links

Specifies whether the Attach: File|Link option is shown or hidden

Check for #{true} to hide the Attach: File|Link option.

Clear for #{false} to show the Attach: File|Link option.

Hide Document Uploader

Specifies whether the Share document icon is available on the task flow for uploading a document

Check for #{true} to hide the Share document icon

Clear for #{false} to show the Share document icon.

Hide Sharing Picker

Specifies whether the Share something with option is shown or hidden

Check for #{true} to hide the Share something with option.

Clear for #{false} to show the Share something with option.

Is Update Status

Indicates whether the message entered in the task flow instance should also be published as the user's Profile status message

Check for #{true} to publish the message as the user's Profile status message and in the selected recipients' Activity Streams.

Clear for #{false} to publish the message only in the selected recipients' Activity Streams.

If you attach a file or URL to a published message, then no matter what the state of Is Update Status, the message is not also used as a Profile status message.

Check for #{true} to keep the text box open after a message is published.

Clear for #{false} to close the text box after a message is published.

Message key of hints text

Specifies the resource bundle class and message key for hint text

Use the format key[,RBClass]. __EMPTY__ as the predefined key for no hint text. This is the default value.

Object Id

The ID of the object to be shared

This property value assists in generating a link for use in navigating to the published object. It is not necessary to provide a value, unless you plan to do so using an EL expression. For information about EL expressions, see Appendix B, "Expression Language Expressions."

Object Type

The type of object to be shared

This property value assists in generating a link for use in navigating to the published object. It is not necessary to provide a value, unless you plan to do so using an EL expression. For information about EL expressions, see Appendix B, "Expression Language Expressions."

Scope Id

The ID of the scope to which to publish

This property value assists in generating a link for use in navigating to the published object. It is not necessary to provide a value, unless you plan to do so using an EL expression. For information about EL expressions, see Appendix B, "Expression Language Expressions."

Service Id

The service ID of the service to which the shared object belongs

This property value assists in generating a link for use in navigating to the published object. It is not necessary to provide a value, unless you plan to do so by entering a specific service ID or using an EL expression. For a list of valid service IDs, see Table B-19, "Service IDs". For information about EL expressions, see Appendix B, "Expression Language Expressions."

Space Name

The name of the Space in which to publish the messages entered in this task flow instance

Enter the Space internal name and not the Space display name. The Space internal name is the name specified by the Space URL on the General page of a Space's administration settings. The Space display name is specified by Display Name, and is the name that appears in the Space banner at the top of the Space.

Upload Document Only

Specifies that only the file upload feature is available in the task flow instance, hiding the text entry area and the Share link icon

Check for #{true} to show only the file upload feature and hide the text entry area and the Share link icon.

Clear for #{false} to show the text entry area and the Share link and Share document icons.

User Name

The name of the user who owns the current view

This value is supplied by default. We recommend that you do not change the default value, #{o_w_w_i_v_b_resourceViewerBean.username}.

Via User

The user name of the person who provided the object the current user is sharing

For example, John is sharing a document with everyone that Jane originally shared with him. In this case, Jane is the via user.

34.3.3.5.4 Limiting the Scope of Recipients

You can use the Space Name property to limit the scope of recipients of published messages to a user's connections in a particular Space. When you do this, the message does not even stream to your own view of the Activity Stream in the Home Space. It is streamed only to your and your connections' views of the Activity Stream in the named Space.

The Space internal name is the name specified by the Space URL on the General page of a Space's administration settings. The Space display name is specified by Display Name, and is the name that appears in the Space banner at the top of the Space.

Click OK.

Messages posted through that Publisher task flow instance will be shared with only those connections who have access to the named Space.

34.3.3.5.5 Using the Publisher as a Profile Status Updater

You can use the Is Update Status property to specify that all messages without attachments are published not only to specified recipients, but also as the user's Profile status message (Figure 34-19).

Figure 34-19 Published Message Used as Profile Status

Messages that have an attached file or link are not simultaneously published as a Profile status message.

To specify that messages are also published as Profile status messages: